Eagle Ford Brings Wealth of Opportunities to South Texas
Driving Change with Natural Gas
The contribution of natural gas jobs to America is clear. Natural gas provides the United States with clean, abundant and reliable energy. And, the more we use this made-in-America resource, the more jobs and economic growth we create here at home.
According to an in-depth economic analysis by IHS Global Insight, natural gas companies directly employed roughly 622,000 Americans in 2008 and indirectly sustained almost 2.2 million additional jobs the same year.
In a time of economic downturn, the natural gas community is actually adding jobs, thanks to the development of new shale plays across the country. In fact, thanks to the vast abundance of the Marcellus Shale, 88,000 new jobs will be added in Pennsylvania alone in 2010, according to Penn State University.
To arrive at these estimates, IHS Global Insight used U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to estimate the number of workers involved in the production and transportation of natural gas. For this study, they recognized about 622,000 direct jobs in 2008, including those generated by:
IHS also found that natural gas is responsible for roughly 2.2 million additional jobs throughout the United States that are indirectly supported by the natural gas community.
The economic benefits of natural gas extend well beyond job creation. Natural gas contributed $385 billion to our nation's economy in 2008 alone.
If the natural gas community were a state, it would rank 12th in GDP, just behind Virginia and ahead of Michigan, Massachusetts, and Washington state. In 2008:
